Birthday Surprise
by HoneyFlower15
Summary: Nami wants to return the favor to Sanji since he is always doing nice things for her. The moment comes with it's his birthday but she has no present other than to cook for him all day. Too bad she has never cooked a day in her life.


Nami groaned from the headache she has been dealing with for the past hour. In her hands was a letter from her sister, Nojiko and the things she wrote was what gave Nami the headache she currently had. She'd written to her sister about the recent events of the past few months and she received a reply she hadn't been expecting. Nami explained in full detail about the birthday party Sanji had thrown for her months ago and she had just gotten the reply back today and it made Nami feel weird.

"_He threw you an amazing party so you need to do the same! This guy cares for you so stop being selfish and show you care about him just as much as he does for you."_

She groaned when those words popped into her head. She knew she had to do something nice for Sanji after he had thrown her such a nice party but she thought she would have more time to prepare herself but it seemed like time had slipped through her fingers. Today was March 1st, the day before Sanji's birthday. _"So what the hell do I do now?" _she hated being confused, it annoyed her to no ends. _"What do you get a guy that turns into a happy pile of goop whenever I smile at him?" _she figured she could spend the day with him but they had days before they were at the next island and a day alone together on this ship was nearly impossible. The only way they would ever be alone was if she locked the two of them in her room but that would be sending all the wrong messages.

"So what should I do?" she asked herself, wanting an answer to come so badly.

"About what?" Nami jumped when Robin came walking in. "It seems you have a problem and I was wondering if you would like some help?" she smiled, offering her help to her fellow crewmate.

"I doubt it," Nami sighed, throwing her hands above her head. "Robin, what do you get a guy that says he's eternally happy if you give him a simple compliment?" her mind was going through a list of things to do for Sanji but so far everything sucked. She knew he would be happy that she had just thought of him and would probably treasure anything she got him but she wanted to do more than just a nice thought.

"Do you mean, Mr. Cook?" Robin sat down at the bar; hands folded in front of her and chin resting in her folded hands. "At our last stop I got him a new pair of cooking knives. His old ones were starting to dull and I thought he would appreciate some new equipment." With her powers she used her extra set of hands to make herself a nice drink.

Nami groaned out loudly and threw the pillow over her face. "Don't tell me that I'm the only one who's unprepared for Sanji's birthday tomorrow?" she whined, waiting for other names to be said but strangely she only received silence. "Robin?" she wondered if the other woman had left without saying anything.

"Hmm?" she had her drink in one hand and was reading a book at the bar counter.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Nami suddenly felt very nervous.

"Because you told me not to tell you that you're the only one unprepared for tomorrow." Robin only smiled at her and Nami screamed into her pillow.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" she felt like such a horrible person. "Sanji is always doing such nice things for me. He's always listening to every word I say, obeys my every command, cooks me amazing food and – " Nami sat up with a straight, eyes wide at her sudden thought. "That's it," she jumped to her feet, a determined look. "Sanji's always making me such delicious food so I should return the favor." She went over to her desk and opened the second to last drawer.

"What are you looking for?" Robin asked, book forgotten as she watched something much more interesting.

"This," Nami cheered when she pulled out a worn out brown notebook with a single tangerine on the front cover. "This has all the recipes that Bellemere would make for me and my sister back home. With this I'll make Sanji a fantastic meal, one he'll never forget." She grinned, happy that she finally had a foul-proof plan.

"I see." Robin was very pleased with how things were turning out.

"Just you watch, I'll cook him breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a desert that'll have his taste buds begging for more," she walked back over to her bed and sat down, looking through the book for the perfect recipes to make for tomorrow. "Now I just need to find a way to keep him out of the kitchen all day." She tapped her foot lightly, trying to come up with an idea to keep Sanji out of his kitchen. It would probably be extremely difficult but Nami would find a way.

"Excuse me," Robin stood from the bar stool and sat down next to Nami on her bed. "I believe I have the perfect idea." She whispered into Nami's ear and in no time her orange-brown eyes were glowing.

"That's perfect," Nami cheered, one hand raised in a fist pump. "Ok, we'll put our plan into action tomorrow morning! Sanji won't know what hit him!" she cheered again, her plan was complete and now all that was left was to start it and finish it.

* * *

><p>Night had come and everyone had gone to bed but only Sanji went to sleep without knowing anything about the secret plan Nami had devised. He slept on in peace, not knowing his crewmates had been planning against him.<p>

"Ok, so everyone knows the plan?" Usopp whispered, looking at the serious faces of his friends. Robin had explained to them all earlier what Nami wanted to do for Sanji and she told them that it was there job to make sure the cook stayed out of the kitchen the entire day.

"We're ready!" Luffy, Copper, Brook, and Franky all held a thumbs up while Zoro was leaning against the back wall, arms crossed, and glaring at his so-called friends that woke him up at four in the morning.

"Whatever," Zoro grumbled, a loud yawn coming from him.

"Why'd we involve him again?" Chopper asked and Usopp shrugged his shoulders, saying he didn't know.

"Ok, first things first," Luffy said with a serious face. "Someone wake up Zoro." He pointed behind him at the already sleeping swordsman. Somehow none of them were surprised that he fell back to sleep so quickly.

"Nah…" Usopp, Chopper, Brook, and Franky waved it off. "We don't need him." They said together and Luffy only nodded.

"Right, now what do we do about him?" Usopp asked and they all looked over at the sleeping cook, he was rolled over on his side and was mumbling about different types of foods in his sleep.

"Well I know curly cook wakes up every morning at five to prepare breakfast." Franky offered his piece of information.

"It's almost five now." Usopp checked his watch and warned them that their time limit was starting. They watched the cook for a moment, waiting to see if he would awaken early. He must have felt them watching because he started to stir and began groaning.

That was their sign to get things started. "Ok, I'm up first then." Chopper ran over to Sanji's bed with a tiny bag in one hove. Stuffing pieces of paper in his nose he opened the bag and let what was inside spill out.

"What ya doin' Chopper?" Luffy asked, clearly confused by what was going on.

"It's a special type of herb that allows people to relax easier," he explained, leaving the bag by Sanji's nose. "Many doctors use this when a patient is in pain. It helps calm the body down so I figured using it will make Sanji's body relax enough that he won't wake up for some time." The happy reindeer explained.

They watched for results and smiled when Sanji yawned and fell back into a deep slumber. "Great job!" the four other strawhat pirates cheered and Chopper danced happily, while trying to act like he wasn't all that happy.

* * *

><p>Nami groggily sat up from the warmth of her bed and cursed when the cool draft hit her. It took all her strength to get up out of bed and not go back to sleep. <em>"For Sanji!" <em>she chanted inside her mind, pushing out the door and into the chilly early morning air. She shivered, arms wrapping themselves around her small frame as she practically ran to the kitchen. "Cold," she mumbled, setting the door and sighed as her body started to warm up again. "Alright, time to get things started." She said to herself, walking away from the door and started preparing everything.

First off she tied her hair up into a small ponytail, one piece of hair escaped but she left it alone. She found a white apron and tied it firmly around her body, not wanting anything to ruin her good clothes. With the recipe book in one hand she found the page she wanted to start phase one of her plan. "Time to make Sanji a birthday he'll never forget," she flipped through the old and worn pages of the book until she found what she was looking for. "Here we go." She smiled softly, remembering the times Bellemere made this very same recipe for her and Nojiko.

Strawberry pancakes with bacon, eggs, sausage, toast, and freshly squeezed orange juice. A breakfast made for birthdays and on the anniversary date of the day they became a family. Nami made a sad smile as she looked at the old book Bellemere owned. So many memories were held in this book, even more than the recipes themselves, there were emotions in this old book and Nami loved it. "Alright time to get started." She put the book off to the side where she could easily read the recipe and went to work. She grabbed all the basket ingredients such as flour, eggs, sugar, butter, and a fresh bowl of strawberries.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, milk and vanilla.

She set to work, whisking together all the ingredients and found that it was harder then it looks. She needed to add power to her arm or else the batter would take forever to make and if she did it to hard then the batter would spill out. She was tempted to use the machine whisk but the noise would wake up Sanji and her whole plan would be ruined. So she sucked it up with gritted teeth and worked on the annoying batter.

Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry. Stir in the melted butter. The batter should be thick and smooth. Fold in the strawberries.

Nami sighed when she had to mix in the two bowls together but was relieved that this time the whisking was easier than the first time. She even found herself humming a light tune as she set to work folding in the strawberries. She saved a few because she had other uses for them and because she wanted to eat a few for herself as she worked. She had never once seen Sanji eating his food as he made it and she wondered if it was because he found it unprofessional or was it just the way Zeff raised him? The old guy seemed like a hard ass but Nami could tell that he cared about Sanji.

Spoon the batter onto the griddle 1/4 cup at a time. Cook the pancakes until set and thoroughly bubbly, about 3 minutes. Flip them with a spatula and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes more.

Nami was pleased to say that this cooking was turning out very well. "I wonder how the guys are doing?" she muttered out loud to her, thinking about the possible ways they were keeping Sanji away from the kitchen.

* * *

><p>(Men's Cabin)<p>

"Oh crap," Usopp only looked up once from the card game they were playing and it caused him to jump. "Sanji's waking up." He whispered quietly as they all watched the blonde begin to rise from his bed.

"Chopper, use the herbs again." Brook urged, pushing the panicking reindeer towards the waking chef. However in all the panic Chopper dropped the herbs and they all cried out when they saw it happened. They all watched in slow motion as the dust fell onto the floor and Sanji was still rising from the sleep.

"Damn, we need to think of something quick before blondie wakes up!" Franky cried and they all racked their brains for ideas. The herbs Chopper used were keeping him feeling drowsy enough that he could back to sleep but they just didn't know how to do that.

"Leave this to me," Usopp came in with a paint can and brush and went to work. He went to the windows, the brush dipped in the paint before he started moving his arms around so much no one could tell what he was painting.

"Hmm?" Sanji sighed, lifting his tired head from the pillow to look at a paint covered Usopp. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked voice heavy with sleep. "Why are you up? You're usually snoring along with Luffy?" he asked though a long yawn. He didn't understand why he woke up so groggy, he was used to waking up early in the morning so why was he having such a hard time waking now?

"Just some late night painting," Usopp had a paintbrush in one hand and a bucket of paint in the other, a smock on his body and a beret on his head. "I could ask you the same. Why are you up?" he pointed out the window. "Its pitch black out, see the stars are shining and everything." What Sanji didn't know was that he had painted the window to look like the night sky and the others had to agree that it was a good painting.

"Really?" Sanji rubbed his one visible eye, a yawn escaping him as he looked out the window. "Weird, I could have sworn it was morning?" he was used to his body waking him up at a certain time every morning to prepare breakfast. It was strange for him to be waking up in the middle of the night like this. "Whatever, I'm going back to sleep. Don't make to much noise painting." He grumbled, wrapping the blanket back around his body and with a long yawn he went back to sleep.

Once they saw he was completely asleep they gave a sigh of relief. Usopp moved the paint can off to the side in case he needed it again before joining his friends. They grinned at him, silently congratulating him for his job well done. They only hoped that the next time Sanji woke up it would be that easy to trick him.

* * *

><p>Nami cursed when one pancake ripped when she lifted it with the spatula. "Well this piece is going to Luffy." She knew their always hungry captain wouldn't care if it was ripped. He would eat anything and then demand more once it was gone.<p>

Even so she wanted everything to be perfect. She was beginning to understand why Sanji was always so focused on his cooking. It was like her and her maps, if even one line was off then the whole map itself would look wrong and it was the same with food. One rip in the pancake made it look like she didn't care and just threw things on to get it over with. She tried her hardest to make sure that Sanji's pancakes came out to perfection just like he did with everything he makes her. His pancakes were free of cracks and rips and had a beautiful golden brown color to them. The eggs and sausage were cooked to the very same perfection, the bacon was the right amount of crispy and the toast was already buttered.

Now all she needed was to squeeze the fresh orange juice and she would be finished with Sanji's birthday breakfast. "Now for the oranges," she turned off the stove, the pancakes waiting on the countertop and moving towards the freshly picked oranges in the cabinet. Nami opened the cabinet door and screamed when she saw knives come flying at her. She fell to the ground, just barely dodging the sharp blades that hit the wall behind her and formed a perfect outline of Luffy. "I forgot Sanji has traps set up for Luffy so he doesn't eat all the food." She said weakly, her eyes wide and hands shaking a little. Luffy was always sneaking in during the night and Sanji set up traps so their always hungry captain wouldn't eat all their food. _"This whole kitchen is set up with booby traps," _she gulped, eyes scanning the room, trying to see if any traps could be seen. _"If I'm not careful then not only will Sanji wake up but I'll probably be dismembered as well." _She nearly screamed at the thought, arms wrapping around her body at the thought of losing a body part. "I need to hurry up and made this before I lose my head." With a shaky breath she reached up for the oranges and crawled back to the counter, being extra careful this time. She didn't want to set off another trap, not only could it mean getting herself killed but the noise could also wake up Sanji.

"_I hope the guys have everything covered." _She needed to work fast and finish this before the cook came in and ruined everything.

* * *

><p>(Men's Cabin)<p>

"Mmh…?" Sanji's ears twitched and his hand moved to his eye. "What's going on?" he mumbled, sleep still clinging to him.

"Damn!" Usopp and Franky cursed when they noticed he was awake.

"Ah! I am sorry Sanji," everyone turned to stare at Brook, his violin resting on his shoulder and him bending down to pick up the bow for his musical instrument. "I was in the middle of a wonderful song when a mouse ran by and spooked me. I was so frightened that I screamed and dropped by bow." He explained picking up his bow and stared to play his violin.

Sanji just stared for a long while, looking somewhere between very tired and annoyed. "Whatever." he grunted, feet touching the floor with a soft thud and began walking towards the door.

"Wait," both Luffy and Usopp fell to the floor, grabbing his legs and stopping him from leaving the room. "Where are you going?" Usopp asked, worried about what Nami would do if she found out they let Sanji go.

"I'm going to the bathroom," he kicked both males away from him and into a sleeping Zoro. "What's wrong with you guys today?" he didn't understand why they were acting so stupid or why he had this weird feeling. His body was telling him that he should have been in the kitchen hours ago but he looked out the window again and saw that it was still dark out. _"Am I still half asleep or something?" _he hoped he wasn't getting sick. He couldn't cook for his beloved Nami, and his crew, if he was sick. _"Although it would be nice if Nami nursed me back to health." _He felt his cheeks heat up at the dreamy image of Nami sitting beside his bedside, a happy smile on her face as she feed him some of her wonderful homemade food and whispered sweet words of "I Love You" into his ear. _"Such a wonderful heaven!" _his eyes turned into hearts at the thought of his lovely Nami acting in such a way towards him.

"Is he ok?" Franky asked, weird out by Sanji's sudden mood swing.

"I'm not really sure." Chopper replied, worried as he watched Sanji swoon over nothing.

"Love is such a strange thing." Brook added in, his arms crossed as he watched their cook acting so happy over nothing.

Meanwhile Luffy and Usopp were groaning in pain at the kick Sanji did and Zoro growled for being woken up in such an annoying manner. "What the hell?" he punched both guys away and reached for his swords, pulling one out at the cook. "What's the big idea with throwing these two idiots at me?" he all but growled, not happy about being woken up.

Sanji, finally out of his daze, stared blankly at Zoro. "I don't have to tell a fool like you anything." he replied coolly, talking out a cigarette and lighting it.

Zoro didn't like this and aimed to hit the man he deemed the most irritating on earth but the blonde dodged and he hit the window. "What the hell is this?" the glass fell to the floor and sunlight started pouring in. "Wasn't it just dark a second ago?" Zoro didn't understand how it could from night to morning in a matter of seconds.

"Wait a minute…" Sanji walked over and picked up one of the broken pieces of glass. He touched it carefully before growling and kicking all the broken pieces at the five other males in the room. "You did this on purpose," he was beyond annoyed at this point and was a little disappointed that the shards of glass missed his so-called friends. "You made me believe it was still night when it's really morning! What kind of stupid joke is this?" he ran out of the room, swearing and cursing all the names of his crewmates.

"_My poor Nami-Swan and Robin-Chwan must be starving at this point." _He could only imagine the poor ladies that were sitting at the kitchen table, waiting patiently for him.

"I'm coming my lovelies!" He cried, picking up speed and running towards his kitchen. "Never fear my lovely maidens, your prince Sanji has arrived!" Sanji kicked the door opened, ready to cook up a breakfast fit for a king in a matter of seconds but stopped in his tracks at the sight before him. Nami was standing at the table, setting down plates of food, wearing a frilly white apron and some flour covering her cheek and hands. Her hair was pulled back into a cute ponytail and her face said she was surprised by his sudden appearance.

She quickly got over the sudden shock of Sanji coming into the room and screaming. "Good morning, Sanji." She greeted him with a smile and walked over to him with a plate full of strawberry pancakes, drizzled with syrup. "Happy Birthday." She handed him the plate and he sucked in his breath when he say that the words "Happy Birthday" has been spelt out in whipped cream and cut up strawberries and a heart in the middle made of pink sugar.

"_It's…It's…" _Sanji felt his heart skyrocket and his entire body began to shake. _"It's a dream come true!" _his eyes turned to hearts and he felt his legs turn to mush as he stared at the plate made just for him. He had always longed for this, Nami making him a plate full of her love; exactly like the ones he makes her everyday, on his birthday. He knew what today was and secretly wished his beloved Nami would do something special for him. _"My wish came true. Nami-Swan is feeding me with a plate full of the strong passionate love that she feels for me!" _it was hard not to just skip around the room in a happy daze.

"Nami-Swan! I'm so happy! Your cooking of love has warmed my heart and made this day so dear and memorable. I shall never forget this kindness!" he preached, body twirling into the seat that is next to the one Nami usually sits in.

"It's no problem, Sanji," Nami walked over to the counter and set down a few more plates in front of the happy cook. "It is your birthday after all and I wanted to do something special for you." She took the seat beside him, knowing he would like sitting between her and Robin. She had turned to continue speaking with him but saw he was nothing more then a melted pile of goop on the floor, pink hearts floating up from his eyes and moving all around her.

"Nami did all this for me. I am so moved that my heart as well as my body has melted in pure joy!" he didn't seem like he was going to recover any time soon.

"You know if you keep laying there the food going to get cold?" she reminded him, knowing how he hates to waste food.

"You're right," he sat up right away and Nami had to stop herself from jumping away. _"That was fast." _She was amazed by how fast he recovered from his little moment. She thought he would be like that for most of the day. He was sitting up straight, fork and knife in his hands as he stared happily down at the plate in front of him. "You did this all for me and I would not be able to call myself a man anymore if I let your precious food go to waste." He took his cooking utensils in his hands, slowing cutting the soft pancakes with ease and plopping the first bite soaked in syrup in his awaiting mouth.

Nami gulped as she watched him chew, she had to admit that she was a little nervous about how her cooking would be. She didn't have a lot of experience in the kitchen and she knew he was used to fancy dishes and she was worried her cooking would have him running for the hills. "Well…?" she leaned closer, eyes wide with anticipation on how he would judge her food.

Sanji put the fork down on his plate, both his eyes were now covered by his hair and he was very still. "It's…" his voice came out soft and he spoke slowly before turning his head around to face her. "It's wonderful!" Nami nearly fell over when she saw his serious face turn into a face of pure bliss. "It's the best meal I and my unworthy taste buds have ever had the pleasure to eat!" he went back to eating the meal she had made him, fork and knife working together to get each piece in his mouth fast enough so no greedy captain would steal it but chewed it slow enough to actually taste the food.

"I'm glad," Nami let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. _"Good to know I'm not a total failure in the kitchen." _She may be a little rusty but it was good to hear from a professional cook like Sanji that her cooking was poison. "Here I'll bring you your drinks." She nearly forgot about the freshly squeezed orange juice that had almost made her head come off. She would have to talk to him about the traps he sets up, maybe let her know how to disarm there so the next time she's in the kitchen she doesn't almost get beheaded, or stuck to the wall, or caught in a giant mousetrap. _"Sanji set up some weird traps." _She rolled her eyes, knowing that each one was needed for their captain.

"Food!" Nami nearly dropped the tray of drinks when Luffy, Usopp, Chopper, and Brook came running in. Robin was still missing but Nami assumed that she was busy reading a new book she had picked up at the last town. She would probably come in once it was finished but Nami wished she would hurry up. _"Well there goes peace and quiet." _She sighed, already missing the sweet peace she had just had only a moment ago.

"Nami, food time!" Luffy cried, banging his fork and knife on the table.

"It's sitting there in front of you." She hit the back of his head, scolding him for acting so childish.

"So you really made this?" Usopp asked, looking hungrily at the pancakes before him.

"Yes, I did." Nami replied proudly, giving everyone their drinks. She wanted to sit down and eat her own meal but there was still food to pass around and she needed to get it on the table before it either burned or turned cold. _"I never realized how busy a cook is." _She was used to Sanji always bringing them meals when it was time to eat and him usually eating at the bar. He was either always standing or moving around either way he was busy and now she felt just a little bit guilty for making him for her.

Zoro poked at his plate. "Is it edible?" he was skeptic about Nami and her cooking.

Before Nami had the chance to yell at him, Zoro was kicked in the head by an angry cook. "How dare you even ask such a stupid question," Sanji stood over him, hands shoved into his pockets and one eye glowing red from angry. "Nami is perfect in everything she does so of course her cooking would be no exception." His body was starting to glow from the anger her felt and everyone slowly moved away from the two.

Zoro growled, holding his aching head with one hand. "Look I asked because I don't feel like dying because of some shitty cooking that the witch made." His reply only made Sanji angrier.

His body burst into flames, making Chopper and Usopp cry out in fear. "How dare you say such things to Nami," Sanji cried, one foot coming up and kicking Zoro in the head and spinning around to kick him in the stomach while one hand grabbed his plate. "Now shut up and eat the meal Nami so happily prepared!" he shoved it all down Zoro's throat, not caring if he choked or not.

"Um…Sanji?" Nami called when she felt it was safe. "You didn't have to do that." She was used to dealing with Zoro and would have just settled for a few hits to the head.

"Nonsense," Sanji jumped over towards her, taking her hands in his. "That horrible fool has no right to even call himself human if he mocks your cooking. There shouldn't be any doubts that your cooking isn't marvelous and I will punish anyone who dares to say otherwise." Everyone knew that was a threat and they all gulped in fear of what would happen to them.

"W-Well let's eat!" Usopp tried sounding happy but the fear he was feeling was keeping him from doing so.

"Y-Yeah." The rest replied with the same feeling. They were all scared by Sanji's threat and knew he would keep his word and make them suffer if they said Nami's cooking was bad.

"I don't get what the problem is," Luffy spoke up, mouth full of food he was currently chewing. "The food is god so I don't get what all the fuss is about?" he was confused by the fighting.

"Really?" Hearing Luffy say that made some feel better about eating food that wasn't prepared by Sanji.

"Well if you say so," Usopp picked up his fork and knife, Brook, Chopper, and Franky all doing the very same. "Let's eat!" They cheered, popping in a giant bite of pancake and swallowing it all.

Right after they ate their first bite the four dropped their eating utensils and stared at the plate before them in horror.

"Is this really food?" Usopp whispered with a strained voice, tears were in his eyes.

"Do people really eat this?" Brook asked, head hitting the table in defeat.

"No, we eat people food. This crap isn't even given to the worst criminal." Franky groaned, downing his drink, trying to get the bad taste out of his mouth.

"I'll have to make a big batch of stomach medicine for this." Chopper whined, his hooves holding his aching stomach.

Zoro had no comments because he had passed out, face a mixture of blue and purple and eyes rolled into the back of his head. Some foam was starting to form at the mouth and his left hand was twitching.

"You all look like you hate it," the four jumped when Nami suddenly spoke up. She was bringing in a plate of eggs and her face told them she was annoyed. They gulped and bravely turned to look at Sanji and they nearly screamed when they saw the murderous look on his face. "So? What's your verdict?" Nami tapped her foot, wanting an answer from her crewmates.

"Um…?" Only they were too scared to answer. An angry Nami they could deal with but an equally angry Sanji made their hearts sink in fear.

"Leave this to me," Usopp whispered into Chopper's ear and set to work. "Sorry for our weird reactions Nami. Our taste buds are used to Sanji's cooking so we're just adjusting to someone new making us meals." He gave her a giant grin, lying through his teeth like always and for once the others were glad.

Nami seemed to accept this. "Yeah, I guess I can understand." It was the same with her when they went out to eat. She was used to eating five-star food all the time so now if she eats at a restaurant the food tastes strange to her. _"Seems like Sanji spoiled us when it comes to eating." _She mused to herself with a shrug and waked back in the kitchen to grab another plate of food she made.

Usopp and the others sighed, giving the long nose man a thumbs up. _"Phase one is complete. Now to move on to phase two!" _they all turned their gaze to Sanji, who was happily eating every bite of food Nami had made him.

"How can he eat that?" Franky asked, wanting an answer. He was smart but even his mind couldn't understand what was happening.

"Well they say love is blinding so maybe love has blinded his sense of taste." Brook replied, coming up with the only reasonable thing. They all knew Sanji would do anything for Nami so why not eat her inedible cooking.

"So what are we supposed to do now?" Chopper asked; worry shining brightly in his giant eyes. "Do we really have to eat this?" he looked up at Usopp, silently pleasing with the man to save them before they all ended up in the same state as Zoro. So far the swordsman still hadn't moved and it worried them all.

"Just leave this to me," Usopp gave them all a reassuring grin and made his way next to the cook. "Hey, how you doing Sanji?" he sat down with his plate and a giant smile, trying to make the mood as normal and carefree as possible so the cook wouldn't suspect anything.

"What do you want?" Sanji asked, placing a piece of egg in his mouth and chewing it all with ease. Usopp nearly gagged watching all this. How the man was able to eat all of the terrible food was beyond him.

"I was just here to offer you my delicious plate of food that Nami made especially for you." Usopp pushed his plate of pancakes towards the cook and prayed he wouldn't get kicked in the face.

"If it's so delicious then why are you giving it to me?" Sanji asked, no longer having his full attention of his food and looked at Usopp. He gave his crewmate a warning look that was making the man cry like a newborn on the inside. "If you find Nami's cooking so wonderful then why give it too me or is there something else you want to say?" he all but growled, making the marks man's legs shake uncontrollably.

"N-No, no way." Usopp waved it off, gulping down his fears and leaned in close. "I'm only offering you it because I know this dish should be eaten only by you," he looked back and pointed at Nami. "You see Nami was the reason why we made you sleep in so she could cook for you. She did all this for your birthday and we are tasting food made of love that is not made for us." He picked up his plate and held it under Sanji's nose.

"Food mad of love?" Sanji felt his heart beat increase and he couldn't take his eyes of the plate in front of him.

"You see, this food was made with a love only for you and we don't feel right about eating it," Usopp motioned for everyone to come and bring their plates. "Nami cooked it all for you, made it all full of love that she has for you."

"Love for me?" Sanji's voice went low, no louder than that of a whisper.

"Exactly," Usopp put his plate down and so did everyone else. "We can taste the love but we know it isn't for us. It's for you, so we want to give it to you so you can taste the complete sweet taste of Nami's love for you."

"Nami's love for me…?" Sanji looked at the plates in front of them, eyes darting over every piece of pancakes to eggs to bacon and everything else Nami made. "Usopp…" Sanji picked his head up to look at his crewmate, showing off the pink hearts in his eyes and the goofy smile he wore. "You're a good man!" Sanji took his fork and knife and began devouring the food in front of him. _"All of Nami's love is in front of me. I cannot waste a single bite!" _he devoured every piece of food before him, missing no plate and leaving behind not even a crumb.

His sudden outburst scared them and they slowly back out of the room, bringing the unconscious Zoro and the always eating Luffy with them. They weren't shocked by Luffy eating the bad food; their captain would eat his own shoe if you put some ketchup on it. "Right…well…we'll leave you alone with your plates of love." Usopp said before turning to face everyone and silently mouthed for them all to run. They did and happily cheered once they were outside.

"What the…?" Nami looked up from the sink full of dirty dishes when she heard the noise and was surprised to see only Sanji sitting alone at the table. "Where did the others go?" she asked and saw that every plate was wiped clean. _"I guess they were really hungry." _She didn't want to gloat but she was quite pleased that her cooking went over so well. She looked and saw every plate was clean of crumbs and all, even the plate she had made for herself. She figured Luffy had probably eaten it on her. Good thing she snacked on a few strawberries while she was preparing everything.

"It seems the others have all left," Sanji replied, wiping his mouth free of any crumbs with a napkin. "Nami-swan, that was the greatest meal I have ever had the pleasure to enjoy." He stretched out his arms, jumping towards her as if to embrace her in a giant hug.

Nami knew she needed to be nice to him, it was his birthday today but she also knew if that hug were to make contact it would send them both flying and possibly crush her. So she did the only thing she could do. "Oops! Better turn off the faucet before it overflows!" she acted quick, making Sanji just miss her.

"N-Nami-Swan," she looked to her left, half expecting Sanji to be standing there with his arms wide open and wanting her to hug him but instead of that he was standing there, hands shoved deep in his pockets and he seemed nervous. "If you like I can do the dishes…or…we could…you know, do them together?" he said it with a like pink blush on his cheeks and what Nami would consider a hopeful smile.

She stared at him for a moment, taking him all in. "But it's your birthday and I wouldn't feel right about making you work on your birthday." She turned back to the dishes completely submerged in water. She knew he probably felt out of place not cooking or working in the kitchen but she set this whole thing up so he could have the day off. No way was she letting all her hard work go to waste.

"Nami-Swan," suddenly he was pressed right up against her, arms holding tight to her body and giant pink hearts in his eye. "I'm so happy! The joyous love and compassion you have for me is making me weak in the knees." He was right; she could feel his legs shaking.

"_He doesn't understand personal space at all." _She rolled her eyes at him but with a reluctant sigh handed him a dry dishtowel. "I wash and you dry." She knew he wouldn't be leaving this kitchen without doing some work and she figured he might as well do the easy job.

"Yes, my lovely swan princess!" he saluted to her, hearts still in his eyes and a giant smile stuck on his face as he waited eagerly for a dish to be handed to him.

"_That's a new one," _she noted handing him the first clean dish to be dried off. _"Never been called swan princess." _She had to admit there were worst nicknames and this new one was actually kind of cute. "Hey Sanji?" she called, rinsing of a new dish before handing it to him.

"Yes, my dear?" he quickly responded, drying the dish off with amazing speed and putting it away before Nami could even blink.

She had to admit she was a little impressed. "Why do you call only me swan?" she may not usually pay attention to Sanji when he flirts with other girls, she only does if he gets too annoying and she has to shut him up. But she has noticed that when it comes to Robin or Vivi or any other girl they came in contact with he always added "Chwan" to their names. So far she was the only "Swan".

She waited for a reply but when none came she looked up at him, expecting to find him giving her another goofy smile and saying something along the lines of "Oh, my love. I am so happy you have taken an interest in me" but that was not the case at all.

Instead she saw that he wasn't facing her and his ears were a beat red. From what she could tell he was playing with the dishtowel she gave him in a nervous manner. "W-Well…you see…Nami…I…I have my own reasons for that." He dismissed her, head still turned away while one hand was stretched out for her to hand him another dish.

She had to say she was a little surprised by how he suddenly acted. She was used to Sanji going from one emotion to another in a matter of seconds but the way he was acting now was different from the others. She didn't know exactly how to describe it but she knew one thing, he was embarrassed about her question. _"The only question is why?" _she knew Sanji, he had no problems telling her why he loved her. He told her these things on a daily basic so what's makes this so different. _"Whatever it is, I'm going to find out_." she thought, handing him another wet dish with an innocent smile to go with it. All she had to do was act innocent enough for him to put his guard down and then find the right time to ask him again.

* * *

><p>They continued washing dishes for a good while, with an always hungry captain meant there was a lot of dirty dishes left in his place. So once they cleaned the kitchen spotless, Nami pushed Sanji right out the door and locked it so he couldn't come back in until se called for them. She was serious about not making him work on his birthday and she was not about to change her plans. "Time for lunch," she already knew what she wanted to make. A fruit salad like the one he had given her the first time they met. She knew he still remembered it and she also knew that the meal would have sentimental value so she thought it to be a good choice. "Now where'd I put that book?" she searched around for the little recipe book she had hidden when Luffy came in. She didn't need him accidentally eating it on her.<p>

At last she found it in one of the drawers of the kitchen and grinned in success. "Ok, now I just to–?" She stopped when she saw there was more in the drawer. Curiosity got the better of her and she started looking through all the papers that were neatly placed inside. They were all recipes, she recognized some dishes that Sanji had already made them and she saw a few new dishes they had yet to eat. "But why are they in the drawer?" she figured he would want to keep them in a cookbook or in his room. She then realized that he probably kept them in here because the boy's room was always hectic, Luffy with his crazy antics and Zoro or Usopp would probably destroy the recipes the moment they touched them. "He must keep them in here for safe keeping," even if that was true she saw that the some papers were thrown or crumbled up and some lettering looked like it was fading.

She felt a little bad that he had to keep them in a place like this. A chef's recipes were as important as his hands and if the recipe is gone then so are the foods they want to make. Even if you memorize the recipe you'll still want a reminder of your achievements or have something to pass down to others. Nami wondered if there was something she could do when an idea came almost instantly. "I got it!" she beamed and quickly gathered all the recipes into her book and set them off to the side. First she needed to make lunch first then she would set her plan into action.

She had cut up all the fruits and set up the fruit salad in a very nice and elegant way. She called in the rest of the crew for lunch, Sanji and Luffy cheered at the food and the others were just glad that it was something simple and edible. Zoro was still in the infirmary with a bad stomach ache and Chopper said he wasn't sure when he would be up. Nami only rolled her eyes as she grabbed a plate and excused herself from the room. She told them she had to finish up a course on the map before she forgets it. With that she slipped out of the kitchen and ran to her room.

"Nami! Wait up!" or she would have gone if Usopp hadn't stopped her. She groaned, turning around to give him a lazy glare.

"What is it?" she needed to get moving before Sanji noticed that his recipes were missing and he went on a rampage. She knew he wouldn't get angry with her if he found out she took them but she didn't need a huge fight to break out between him and the rest of the guys on the ship.

"I wanted to talk to you and Sanji and your plan," he looked around carefully before putting his hand to his mouth and whispered in her ear. "I think you should make your last meal one for just the two of you."

Nami blinked in confusion. "And why would I do that?" she wondered what Usopp was getting at.

"Because it's what Sanji wants," he pointed back to the door of the kitchen. "After breakfast was over and you kicked him out he waited outside the kitchen door the whole time. Robin tried getting him to move but he refused, saying he wanted to stay close in case you needed help."

"Really?" she didn't know why she was surprised. Sanji was that kind of guy to do things like that so she shouldn't be so shocked to hear he waited outside for her the whole time.

Usopp nodded, "Yeah, he kept saying how happy he was that you were cooking him a meal of your pure and everlasting love for him," Nami had to roll her eyes at that. Of course Sanji would say something as weird as that. "But what he really wanted for his birthday was for you guys to spend time together."

Now that caught Nami's attention. "What do you mean?" she was confused. "We spend time together. We talk and see each other everyday." Just yesterday they were all out on the deck, laughing at an angry Zoro chasing after Luffy for messing with his training weights.

Usopp shrugged, "We were confused to so we had Robin ask him and he said that he wants to have a real conversation with you. You know, like learn more about each other and grow closer together," he moved away and crossed his arms. "All the guy really wants is to spend some time alone with you."

"With me?" Nami had to say she was a little shocked. She knew Sanji, he liked to flirt with her but she never thought anything he said or did was serious. She knew he cared about her, they were friends and would risk their lives to save each other but she thought that was it. _"Was I wrong about him?"_ she wouldn't know unless she asked him. "Thanks Usopp." She had to say that for once she was glad what came out of the long nose man's mouth. After learning this she had a brand new plan and took off to her room.

Usopp watched her go and had a giant grin on his face. "Yes! Mission Accomplish!" He threw a fist up in the air and cheered. "Now the guys and I don't have to worry about dying from food poisoning." He happily said and let out a gleeful whistle as he walked back in the kitchen to eat up his lunch.

* * *

><p>Nami wanted to scream when the stupid ribbon she was trying to tie wouldn't stay still. She had finished her little surprise for Sanji and was now wrapping it but it was getting so annoying that she was ready to throw the damn thing out the window. She stopped herself of course because that would just be a waste of time and money so she took a deep breath and went back to wrapping the gift. Dinner had been made and was set up so all she needed to do was call Sanji and the two would have dinner together. As strange as it sounded she was taking Usopp's advice while everyone else went out to eat. They had just docked at an island and she had asked Sanji to stay behind and help her with dinner. He had gladly agreed and was currently preparing them some drinks. She figured he probably missed his kitchen and would most likely want to make something.<p>

"There, finally finished!" she grinned once she saw the present was wrapped and ready to be delivered. Now both the present and she were ready to finish up this birthday bash. She had her hair pulled back with a black clip, one piece on the left hanging down and a light touch of make-up to show off her natural good looks. Looking herself over she had to say she liked the dress that she currently wore. Sanji had given it to her on her birthday, a light blue one strap knee length dress that showed off her body beautifully and matching black high heels to show off her legs. She had to say, the man had good taste when it came to picking out clothes for her.

After deeming herself presentable she walked out of her room and out to the deck where she called for Sanji. He happily came out with a tray of drinks for them but he nearly dropped them when he saw what was outside. "Happy birthday." Nami had set up a nice little picnic for them with some small scented vanilla candles to add to the mood. She was trying to make it look presentable but also give it the feeling of just two friends hanging out together. She was not making it a date. If was not that Sanji would make a bad boyfriend, she figured he'd probably be very attentive and very sweet to whoever he settled down with but she was not ready for a lover right now. Maybe after she finished her map or became amazingly rich she would find a nice man to be with.

"Nami?" Sanji seemed to find his words but his body was still shaking and it looked like the tray was about to fall any moment. "W-W-What's all this?" she didn't miss the hope that was radiating off him.

She sighed, "It's your birthday surprise. Usopp told me you wanted to spend some time with me so I figured if we're going to talk we might as well eat." She tried making it sounded like anything but a date but also she tried to avoid sounding rude. It was still his birthday and she didn't want to act like a total witch.

"Mellorine!" Sanji was by her side in a matter of seconds. "You have made me so happy!" he looked like he wanted to engulf her in a giant hug but he was obviously holding himself back.

"_Oh, what the hell." _She sighed and opened up her arms. "Come on. I won't mind since it's your birthday and all." She said all this while looking away, a small pink blush on her cheek. She was not used to being this nice.

"Nami-Swan!" Sanji's eyes seemed to sparkle with bright stars before he threw his arms around her petite form and sighed with content. Nami slowly wrapped her arms around him and returned the hug; she could practically feel the happiness flowing from the male in her arms.

"_Well it could be worst," _She had to admit that it wasn't so bad being hugged. She hadn't been held by someone since she the last time at Cocoyashi Village and Gen held her before he and the rest of the villagers ran to fight Arlong. It was a foreign feeling to be held but it wasn't a bad feeling, in fact it felt kind of nice. _"Wait! What the hell am I thinking?" _this was not like her. Not at all and she needed to put a stop to this before she ended up doing something stupid.

"Ok, that's enough." she gently pushed him away and crossed her arms. She was feeling a little weird about the whole thing and she didn't know how to act now.

"Of course, Nami." Sanji didn't argue and silently sat back down next to her.

She looked him over and saw there was a little spec of disappointment in his eye. He seemed hurt and she wondered if he always has that look in his eye when she pushes him away. "Here," she figured now was a good time to give him his present. She didn't know why but she didn't want him to keep looking so sad. Even if he was doing a good job at hiding it she could still see it. "I hope you like it." She looked away and blushed a light shade of pink. She was really starting to freak out about her sudden behavior change and was considering having Chopper examine her.

"Thank you," she was surprised by how calm he was acting. She expected him to go all heart-eye and scream about how wonderful she was. "I really appreciate it." Instead he was giving her a gentle smile with a matching faint pink tint to his pale cheeks.

"_He seems so happy." _She has never seen him like this before. It was kind of strange but it was also really nice.

Sanji took his time unwrapping the gift. He was opening it as if it was a precious item and it needed to be handled with only the greatest of care. Nami was getting a little impatient since she usually just rips the paper right off and gets straight to the present. The paper was only for decoration, something to attract the eyes of others. "It's special," she jumped somewhat at his voice. Not expecting him to speak so suddenly. "I can tell by the way you wrapped it that this present is very special and that's the way I'm going to treat it and open it. Besides, you took the time to wrap it so nicely that I want to preserve even the paper." Ok, now she was confused. He didn't go all goofy and love struck on her. He was acting differently than he usually does when he's with her. _"Or is he showing me his true colors?" _she could remember Bellemere telling her an Nojiko that when a person is with someone who they share a special bond with then they are able to be there true self and not have to hide.

"A recipe book?" It seemed while she was thinking of her adopted mother she had missed Sanji finally opening his present.

"It has all your recipes in it. I saw them in the kitchen before and I thought you might like keeping them in a book instead of a kitchen drawer," she wasn't sure what was causing her to want to tell him this but she couldn't stop himself. "It used to belong to Bellemere so it has some of her recipes in it too."

"Nami, are you serious?" not a reacting she was expecting. She thought he would be happy that she gave him such a gift but he seemed so astounded by it that he looked pale. Sanji jumped to his feet, hands clenching the cook book tightly in his hands. "Why would you give me such an important item?" that was a good question. Why had she given him something that was so special to her? Was it because she felt guilty about how well he treats her?

"_No, that's not it. I'm not guilty." _She looked down at her hands and saw the bracelet that Nojiko had given to her before she left. "When I was a little girl Nojiko used to tell me that I was selfish brat," she gave a small laugh as she remembered the fights she had with her sister. "But Bellemere would always step up and break up our fights and when it was finally over she would make us a meal that seemed to erase our anger towards each other," she touched the bracelet with the tip of her fingers, doing this she felt as if her sister and mother were right next to her. "That's sort of how your cooking is. It's like no matter how mad or worried I am, I just have to eat something you make and I'm suddenly filled with such a great feeling that all the negative emotions just leave," she finally looked up at Sanji. "I know how important your cooking is and I don't want you to stop. I want you to keep cooking forever and I hoped that the book that Bellemere used to have will give you even more recipes to cook for me, for us, and for the rest of the crew."

"Nami…" Sanji fell to his knees and embraced her in his long and firm arms. "Thank you." He whispered his thanks to her and for some reason she couldn't find it in herself to be mad at him.

"Yeah, whatever." she blushed and gently moved him of her. This time he didn't have any signs of disappoint in his eye, only pure and sweet happiness.

He sat back down next to her, long legs folded in and the book still held tight in his hands. "This is the greatest birthday I have ever had the pleasure to celebrate and I can't thank you enough for all that you have done for me," suddenly his only visible eye turned in a large deep scarlet heart. "I am so happy to hear about how much Nami cares for me."

It seemed that Sanji returned to acting like his regular/weird/annoying/love-cook self.

"_Well that didn't last long." _She could only sigh and picked up her fork and knife. "Yeah, I get it. Now, come on and let's eat before the food gets cold." She cut off a piece of the pork she had made and took a bite of it.

In a matter of seconds she spite it out and ran to the side of the deck to try and ride her mouth of the horrible taste. "I am so sorry." If she had known what a horrible cook she was she would have never set foot in the kitchen. _"I really hope he doesn't die of food poisoning," _with great effort she turned her head around to look at how Sanji was doing and was surprised to see that he was eating every bite of food she made.

"Nami-Swan! Aren't you going to eat?" he called, waving happily over to her with his napkin.

She weakly waved him off. "No thanks, I'm full." She groaned when she felt her stomach screaming at her. She doubted she would be getting any decent rest tonight, her stomach felt like it was on fire. Yet somehow Sanji was eating every bite. _"Better get Chopper to make a giant batch of stomach medicine just in case." _She thought before groaning in pain and trying to keep down her lunch.

* * *

><p>The birthday bash had gone off without anything to bad happening. Zoro was still sick in bed, a bucket by his side every moment and a bruised face from the kicks Sanji had hit him with. Zoro had commented how it was Nami's food that had caused him to get so sick, and while she had agreed with him, Sanji didn't and beat the swordsman until he wasn't conscious anymore.<p>

"Nami-Swan," she had been in her lawn chair reading a magazine when she saw Sanji standing over her, a tray full of sweets in his hands. "Would you like something to eat? I prepared this dish especially for you." She believed him; the whole tray was full of tiny little orange cakes that Bellemere used to make her.

She nodded, taking one of the cakes and eating it. "Thank you." She smiled once the taste hit her. It was exactly how she remembered them to be and that thought alone made her eyes become watery.

"It is my pleasure, Nami-Swan." He gave her a nice bow and turned to walk back in the kitchen.

She put down her magazine and sat up. "You know, you never did answer my question?" he blinked twice in confusion and she grinned. "Why you only call me Swan."

He blushed a full on crimson and nearly dropped the tray. "N-N-Nami…w-where is this…I-I mean w-why do y-you want t-t-to know?" he was trying to hold the tray steady but it kept moving in his shaking hands.

"Because I'm curious," she only smiled more, enjoying herself. "So are you going to tell me?"

Sanji seemed to be considering his answer. "Do you…well I mean…will promise me one thing?" he seemed very embarrassed suddenly, something he usually never was. "Just promise me you won't laugh." He was worried about her laughing at him and thinking he was some stupid idiot.

"Ok," she only smiled more and nodded. "I won't laugh."

He gulped and looked down at his feet as he spoke to her his reasons. "After I heard about your childhood and how hard it was I instantly thought of darkness," so far his answer was confusing her. What does darkness have to do with a swan? "Then I thought of the you now and I thought of a pure white light. A strong and beautiful woman that overcame such a cruel and evil man," she still didn't understand his reason. "And when I thought of this I remembered this story called the "Ugly Duckling" and how it started out as an ugly duck and then turned into a beautiful swan," he finally looked up at her. "That's what you are Nami. You went through hell and back but instead of letting it turn you evil, you overcame all the hardship and transformed into a beautiful swan." His smile was pure and genuine. He was serious about everything he had just told her.

"Oh well…thanks." she turned around in her seat, suddenly to embarrassed to look at him.

"Anytime, my lovely swan." She didn't need to see it but she knew he had bowed to her again.

By the sound of his feet told her that he was starting to walk back to the kitchen. "Hey Sanji," she called out to him, her back still turned as she spoke. "If you want to, we can hang out and talk like we did last night," she slowly moved her head around, only half her face showing but it was enough for him to see a bright red blush on her cheeks. "It was fun."

"Nami…" he stood there frozen before he acted. "I love you too!" he shouted out, hearts in his eyes and from the smoke of his cigarette.

"When the hell did I say I loved you?" she cried back, annoyed at how he took her kindness. _"Well what did I expect? He is an idiot after all," _she sighed and turned back in her lawn chair to eat her treats and go back to looking at the latest clothes. _"But still…" _she looked back and saw that Sanji was dancing around in pure joy and seemed to be freaking out everyone but Luffy and Robin. _"He's a sweet idiot." _She took another bite of the cake Sanji made for her and smile din joy when the rich taste exploded in her mouth.


End file.
